1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to a home-type corn popping device and particularly pertains to a device and method for popping corn in a standard convection-type oven.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Popcorn has been a part of the American diet since native Americans first served it to pilgrims centuries ago. Although popcorn is considered one of the healthiest snacks a person can eat, popcorn cooked in oil or butter is laden with fat and high in calories. Thus, considering the health-conscious trend of Americans, low-calorie, low-fat snacks such as air-popped popcorn are becoming increasingly popular.
While the technique of popping corn by using hot air has existed for a long time, new devices for cooking with hot air have provided the basis for new developments for hot air popping. Convection-type ovens are relatively new kitchen appliances that cook by blowing hot air from a heating unit such as mounted in a removable lid into a compact, counter-top sized cooking chamber which holds the food therebelow. Even though these convection-type ovens are ideal for cooking meats and vegetables, no effective way existed, using presently available equipment, to efficiently and effectively pop corn in such convection-type ovens. Considering a modern cook's desire for productivity in the kitchen with minimal clutter, it is desirable to prepare as many different foods as possible using the fewest number of appliances.
In addition to contributing to kitchen clutter, ordinary hot-air popcorn poppers dispense popcorn into a container external to the popper. Thus, during the popping process, the popped corn directed into the external container becomes cold and unappealing while the remainder of the corn pops.
Thus, with the problems and disadvantages of prior art popcorn poppers known, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a popcorn popping device for use with a conventional convection-type oven having a special popping bowl contained therein.
It is also an objective to provide a popcorn popping device utilizing only hot air without calorie-laden butter or oil.
It is still another objective to provide a popcorn popping device which eliminates the need for an additional kitchen appliance used solely for corn popping.
It is yet another objective to provide a popcorn popping device which maintains popped corn hot while the unpopped corn is being popped.
Various other advantages and objectives will be realized by those skilled in the art as a more detailed description of the invention is set forth below.